


The Warden

by Burgie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Miqo'te WoL, female WoL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 07:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28467261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Veronyka tries to catch another big fish.
Relationships: Lyse Hext/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 7





	The Warden

**Author's Note:**

> I still haven't caught the Warden yet either, closest I got was hearing the jingle and then the fish got away.

Veronyka wasn’t sure how long she’d been here now. Days, mayhap. The ebisu catfish around here were starting to change appearance, she could swear it. The sunlight glittering off of the prismatic water had been beautiful, at first. Now, it stung her eyes, preventing her from catching more than a few moments of sleep.

The Warden of the Seven Hues, or Rainbow Warden, as it was commonly called, had first been introduced to Veronyka when she’d visited the home of one of the more famous fishers in Kugane. Each tank had been filled with a different kind of fish, the walls lined with prints of what fish wouldn’t fit in tanks. It had been amazing to see, truly. And there, in one tank, had been the fish. Its scales shimmered in every colour of the rainbow, Veronyka’s mouth falling open in shock as she’d beheld it.

“Ah, I see you’ve fallen for the charms of the rainbow devil,” the house’s owner, a male Lalafell, had said with a grin. “A common mistake.”

“A mistake? What do you mean?” Veronyka asked, frowning as she turned away from the fish to look down at the Lalafell.

“The warden may be pretty, but he is not easy to snag,” said the Lalafell. “First, one must wait for fair skies to give way to clear or fair skies, starting from midnight and ending at four in the afternoon. Five green prism fish you must hook in that time period. And then, once you have five of those in your bucket, you must wait for the pall of midnight to fall over you. Then, you must hope for the violet prism fish, hook one, and mooch from that an indigo prism fish. Three indigo prism fish must join the five green. Wait until four in the morning, and then you must mooch three firelight goldfish from three red prism fish. Only then will the rainbow warden deign to share the pool with you for three Eorzean minutes. And then… he still won’t bite.” The Lalafell looked a little mad as he grinned, reminding Veronyka for a moment of Wawalago.

“He demands quite the offering,” said Veronyka. “And sacrifice.”

“Ah, but a true fisherman would not allow something like time to stand in their way, would they?” said the Lalafell. Veronyka shook her head, feeling the familiar pull of the ocean, calling her to fish.

“Where do I need to go and what bait do I need?” Veronyka asked. The Lalafell shook his head, smiling.

“Prism Lake, which can be accessed most easily via the aetheryte at the House of the Fierce. Oh, and bring something to do in the meantime.”

“I know,” said Veronyka, inclining her head in a nod. “This isn’t the first rare fish I’ve had to stay up all night for. Nor the first I’ve needed to prepare a series of sacrifices for.” She well remembered the Feast of Famine, where she’d fished up living legends from all across Eorzea. The sleepless nights, the crushing disappointment, how her eyes had burned from the heat waves in Southern Thanalan… but the thrill of catching exactly the fish she needed was worth it.

“Oh, and Stonefly Larva,” said the Lalafell. “That’s the bait you’ll need. Good luck! May the white goldfish steer clear of your rod.”

That had been possibly a week ago now. The longest week of Veronyka’s life, she could swear it. The splashing of the ebisu catfish around her had lulled into the background, somehow not disturbing the fish. They also somehow did not notice her despite appearing quite aggressive. But that was the magic of the secret sneak skill of the gatherers, she supposed.

Throughout her vigil, Veronyka had tossed many white goldfish down into the lower ponds, watching with sadistic glee as the catfish swarmed to eat them. A few blue and yellow prism fish had joined them, though she dare not get rid of any green ones. There was quite the pile in her bucket already, though. Now, she had only to wait until midnight, again, for the red prism fish. Again. Or was that violet? Quite honestly, she could not remember. There was a long time until midnight yet, though. Sleep might do her good.

Setting an alarm on her linkpearl, Veronyka curled up behind one of the crystalline structures that dotted the lake, pulled her wide-brimmed fishing hat down over her eyes, and tried to get some sleep.

Moonlight shone down over prism lake again, and Veronyka could still feel herself succumbing to sleep. It was so late, and she was so tired, and she’d been at this so long…

“Come on, rainbow fishy,” Veronyka murmured, her voice droning from how tired she was, tail sodden behind her in the water, ears plastered flat to her skull because of course it was raining, why wouldn’t it be raining? “We have a very nice house in the Lavendar Beds, with a nice house set up just for you! Well, tank, but it’s a very big one. And you’ll even have neighbours! It’s in Solar’s little basement, we have cool music playing and it’s like a little nightclub and-“ She suddenly cut herself off as her mouth opened in a yawn, her jaw cracking before the sound trailed off into a squeak. “Come on, warden, please please please…”

A white goldfish appeared on the end of Veronyka’s line, having quite enjoyed the bait of the red prism fish. It landed with a rather satisfying yet tiny ‘splash’ further down the lake. Veronyka groaned, tipping her head back, letting the rain run over her face even as she cast her line again.

The final firelight goldfish seemed to glimmer like firelight itself. Wait, no. Veronyka blinked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, blinking harder. The entire lake itself seemed to be shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow.

“He’s here!” Veronyka cried, frantically casting her line again, hoping that she had enough stonefly larva left. She was beginning to loathe the sight of white goldfish. And blue. And yellow. The other red got a pass because it was needed, though not right now.

And then, at last, Veronyka felt it. That sense that something big, something legendary, was hooked to her line. She got to her feet, tugging with all her might…

Only to fall on her tail as her line snapped. The glimmer faded. The fish had gotten away. All of that work. For nothing.

Veronyka was still sitting there hours later when Lyse arrived, dismounting from her yol and dispatching a wandering ebisu catfish who got too close before walking over to where her girlfriend sat.

“Any luck?” Lyse asked. Veronyka buried her head in Lyse’s shoulder and screamed softly. Ah. Well, that answered that, then.


End file.
